If someone takes a photo of me can they put it on the internet without my permission? Can I stop it being displayed?

[AryomGrob]

If someone takes a photograph of me can they put it on the internet without my permission? Can I stop it being displayed? I wonder how the law stands on this. I wonder whether there is any law to protect us from such happenings?

[Buenchico]

With very few exceptions (related to such diverse things as official secrets and indecent photographs of children) anyone is free to photograph what (or who) they like when the photographer is in a public place, on their own property or located elsewhere when the property owner has given permission for photographs to be taken. (For example, it's perfectly legal to take a photograph of someone through the window of their house if the photographer is on a public footpath). Even if a photograph is taken without the consent of the person who owns the property where the photographer is located, there's usually nothing that could be done about it. (For example, if someone was to take a photograph at a rock concert where photography was prohibited it's unlikely that the promoter or venue owner could do anything unless the photograph was used for commercial gain).

Unless a photograph is taken by someone in the course of their employment (e.g. a staff photographer working for a newspaper) the copyright in that photograph is held by the photographer and he/she is generally free to use it in any way that they please (such as by putting it onto a website). The only exception would normally be where an image of a person was to exploited for commercial gain. For example, if I was to take a picture of Victoria Beckham walking down the street I could freely put it onto any website. But if I sold it to an advertising agency, VB could sue that agency if they used her image in a way which implied that she endorsed a particular product. However I could, for example, take a picture of Wayne Rooney smoking and sell it to a national newspaper (to indicate his poor attitude to maintaining his fitness) without fear of WR being able to sue either me or the newspaper for using his image.

In my opinion we already have far too many so-called 'privacy' laws in this country and the last thing we need is any more.

Chris